The British royal family is a respected institution in the United Kingdom. It is one of the few nations in the world that's still clings to a constitutional monarchy. The only other major power in the world that has a monarchy is Japan. A storm had started brewing after Prince Harry and his wife Meghan had announced that they would like to step back from royal duties. This has upset Buckingham Palace and the Queen. Prince Philip is also not happy. The split appears to be formalized after Buckingham Palace stated that Prince Harry and Megan will no longer carry out royal duties and would also not receive any public funding.
BBC has reported that the couple will no longer formally re-present the Queen.
Present crisis
The present crisis is reminiscent of what happened earlier in the 30s of the last century. At that time, the king of England had abdicated in favor of his younger brother after he insisted that he would marry Mrs. Simpson, an American who had two children earlier. The British were not prepared to accept a divorcee as queen, and so the king took the momentous decision to abdicate.
The present crisis is not of that magnitude, but all the same, it has upset the cohesiveness of the royal family. Prince Harry is sixth in the line of the succession to be the king of England, and there is practically no chance that he will ever become one.
Besides his wife, Meghan was also receiving negative publicity in the British press.
Stepping back from royal duties
This had a cumulative effect, and the Prince and his wife Meghan decided to step back from their royal duties and chart out their course of action. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use their HR title.
They have also announced that they intend to repay 2.4 million GBP, which had been used to refurbish their home, Frogmore cottage in England. They have announced that Frogmore cottage will remain there English family home. They intend to divide their time between North America and England. The Daily Mail has reported that after the bombshell announcement, there has been no immediate reaction from Prince Charles and Prince William.
Details finalized
Queen Elizabeth II has finalized the details regarding Prince Harry and Megan's decision to step back as senior members of the royal family. The pair will no longer use their title Royal Highness and will no longer receive public funds. The conditions are similar to the agreement with Princess Diana 24 years ago when she divorced Prince Charles. They propose to take up primary residence somewhere in North America. The couple will now be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who has created the impression that she may be pregnant.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement last night, which marked the conclusion of talks about Harry and Megan's future as senior members of the royal family. With this announcement, the curtain has come down on this episode.
